Red State is a flick that’s been on my radar for a few years now. When I first heard that Kevin Smith was planning on dipping his toes into the horror genre, I was skeptical through-and-through. Sure, Clerks and Chasing Amy are two of my all-time favorite flicks, and I spent many of my most formative years memorizing and reciting the clever quips of Smith’s characters, all of whom seem to have vocabularies that would shame both Sadlier and Oxford. But I just couldn’t imagine Kevin Smith pulling off a legitimately terrifying flick.

Then came a string of Smith movies that did absolutely nothing for me. Clerks II was a veritable Mooby the Golden Calf, desecrating the legacy of a film that I hold as sacred. Zack and Miri Make a Porno was also a let-down, as I got the sneaking suspicion that the director was trying to channel some of the Apatow spirits rather than focus on his unique perspectives. And I didn’t even see Cop Out, but was assured by trusted friends and critics that I wasn’t missing anything.

So when I heard that Red State was actually being produced and that Kevin Smith was going to distribute it himself, my cynicism once again reared its ugly head. I was a scorned lover, unwilling to rekindle the passion that once raged for fear that I would be hurt again. Hell, even the fact that Tarantino enjoyed the movie wasn’t enough to assuage my doubts. Simply put, there was nothing anyone could say that would convince me that this movie would be anything other than a disaster.

But after sitting down and watching Red State, I believe it to be nothing less than Kevin Smith’s redemption as a filmmaker.

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